New Year's Eve 2009

Wow...the last day of 2009...seems like yesterday I was surviving the mad ordering rush for Becky Higgins Project 365 (remember the Jan 1 2009 mayhem that caused?) and watching the Rose Parade. This year has come and gone so quickly!

Sorry I have been out of touch. We've been enjoying a lovely vacation on the beautiful island of Barbados this week.

I'm writing this from the veranda of our 3000-square foot condo (they offered us an upgrade we could not refuse!) while sipping mango juice and enjoying the most magnificent sunset I have ever seen! It is absolutely beautiful here, and the Bajans have spoiled us rotten.

The weather is very warm and humid but there is a wonderful breeze that keeps us cool all day and night. It's amazing that we can sleep with the windows and patio doors open - I love hearing the waves crash while I'm drifting off. The beach at our resort is pristine - the water is crystal clear and has a turquoise glow to it most of the day; and the sand feels like clay.

I'll upload a few photos later. Right now it's time to get ready for our New Year's Eve bash tonight. Enjoy your evening my friends!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wishing you and yours all the very best! We'll be spending the next week in Barbados so I'll write to you from the beach.

Have a very Happy Christmas my friends!!!

O Holy Night

We're going to have a white Christmas here on Long Island. The snow has not melted much and it's still very cold. We're all gathered around our tree in anticipation of the excitement to come (we're leaving for vacation in 2 days so the presents will be opened early this year) In the midst of all the excitement I had to stop and take a moment to reflect on the what this holiday is really all about; the birth of the Christ...the first gift of Christmas. As my teens tear through the wrapping paper and "ooh" and "ahh" over their gifts, I hope they will never forget the true meaning of Christmas.

Here is a beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night" as sung by Swedish tenor, Jussi Björling, possibly the greatest tenor who ever lived...my gift to you this Christmas Eve. Enjoy your holidays my dear friends, and blessed be the name of the Lord!

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining.

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine! Oh night when Christ was born!
Oh night divine! Oh night! Oh night divine!

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother,
and in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his holy name.
Christ is the lord, that ever, ever praise we.

Noel! Noel! Oh night;oh night divine!
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Prayer

Loving God, Help us remember the birth of Jesus,
that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds,
and worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate
and open the door of love all over the world.
Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.
Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings,
and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children,
and Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,
forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Warning: Lots of photos below

I can’t believe it’s mid-December already…Good grief! I finished my second round of antibiotics and am finally feeling better. I want to thank you all so much for the lovely emails I received. Your warm thoughts cheered me up when I was sick (THANK YOU!).

We’ve been busy with school, work and Christmas preparations. There’s so much to do and time is flying by so fast. If I can stay away from the mall I think I’ll actually enjoy myself this year. Christmas shoppers can sometimes be your worse nightmare.

So on to art-related stuff: Here’s a mini I just finished for Faye, my November GGS partner. I’ll post the video later (still have to edit it). I used the “Vintage Flair” kit from Scrap For A Cure, as well as trims and trinkets from my own stash. The base is made with envelopes, an idea I learned from watchingMarion’s tutorial on YouTube. Stephanie also created a beautiful album based on the same technique. At first I thought the envelopes were too flimsy to use as a base, but when you cover them with cardstock and build the pages, it turns out to be quite sturdy. This was a ton of work but I had so much fun making it. Hope Faye enjoys it too. That’s it for now. Thanks for visiting with me.

The transparency on the left is from a Hambly journaling sheet I had in my stash

"Vintage Flair" Mini

Warning: Lots of photos below

I can't believe it's mid-December already...Good grief! I finished my second round of antibiotics and am finally feeling better. I want to thank you all so much for the lovely emails I received. Your warm thoughts cheered me up when I was sick (THANK YOU!).

We've been busy with school, work and Christmas preparations. There's so much to do and time is flying by so fast. If I can stay away from the mall I think I'll actually enjoy myself this year. Christmas shoppers can sometimes be your worse nightmare.

So on to art-related stuff: Here's a mini I just finished for Faye, my November GGS partner. I'll post the video later (still have to edit it). I used the "Vintage Flair" kit from Scrap For A Cure, as well as trims and trinkets from my own stash. The base is made with envelopes, an idea I learned from watching Marion's tutorial on YouTube. Stephanie also created a beautiful album based on the same technique. At first I thought the envelopes were too flimsy to use as a base, but when you cover them with cardstock and build the pages, it turns out to be quite sturdy. This was a ton of work but I had so much fun making it. Hope Faye enjoys it too. That's it for now. Thanks for visiting with me.

The transparency on the left is from a Hambly journaling sheet I had in my stash?

Woo-Hoo I beat the Flu!

Wow...this flu bug really did me in! I can't believe how long it's taking me to get over this thing. After 2 weeks I still feel tired and run down. I've been drinking lots of tea and taking vitamins- and trying to get more sleep, which is hard to do when you're the mom of 2 teens who have very busy schedules.

Well, I'm happy to be back in my little art room, but I'd forgotten about all the projects I had started before this flu thing hit us. I think it's time to get moving and finish these before the deadlines come and go. In the meantime, I thought I would revisit a project I had fun with over the summer.

I was part of an art collaborative and our assignment was to create an altered book with a nursery rhyme theme (doesn't that sound so cool?). I chose "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" and used a children's hardcover book as my base. Here's the book before, after it had been sanded and wiped down (poor Dora...I'm so sorry sweetie)...

and after:

I don't know if you can tell by looking at the photo, but I am seriously addicted to gesso...

I use it on everything. It's a borderline obsession, and it's all Audrey's fault. It took her a year to finally talk me into using it on my artwork and now I can't stop! I'll talk more about the virtues of gesso (and oil pastels) in another post, but for now here's a peek at the rest of the pages.

Thanks for visiting with me and being such great online friends! I'm going to slowly but surely work through this crafty mess of mine over here, and will hopefully have something fun to share soon...Oh, almost forgot! I received the most adorable album from Faye. I'll post a video soon but in the meantime, check it out on her blog. This thing is soooooo cuuuuuute!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you Heavenly Father,

For the blessings that you give to us each day;
For friends and family we hold dear, for all you send our way.
We ask that you will guide us well, in everything we do,
And pray we never will forget these blessings came from you.

Amen.

Enjoy your day my friends, and remember to give thanks every day!

Mojo Monday 113 & CPS 142

Yep...I'm still here. We're all doing our best to work through this flu thing. My girls and I are calling ourselves the "Cunningham Coughing Trio". Trying to make light of a pretty bad situation! I just thank God it's not the swine flu - from what I hear, that's 10 times worse!

When the Advil kicks in and my fever is down, I've been able to take short walks and watch a few movies with the girls. We enjoyed this Janette Oke series and our favorite Jane Austen flicks.

Also managed to fit in a bit of crafting today after we all returned from the doctor's office (I have FOUR prescriptions!!). Here's my take on the current Mojo Monday. This Graphic 45 paper makes me all giddy inside -- it is sooooooo beautiful!

(Cardstock: Stampin' Up; Patterned Paper: Graphic 45; Santa and Jingle Bells image: Graphic 45; Bling: Prima; Lace: my stash)

and I even had enough energy to tackle the current CPS sketch.

(Cardstock: Stampin' Up; Patterned Paper: K&Co-Brenda Walton's Evergreen Paper Pack; Stickles; All images and frame: Coordinating Evergreen die cuts)

OK...time for more chicken soup...

Down For The Count...

Well my dear friends, the dreaded flu bug has officially landed at my house. My little teen came home with a fever on Thursday and as much as I don't like the fact that she is sick, I've been enjoying having her home and doting on her. Unfortunately after four days of hugs and "get well" kisses, I'm feeling very tired and achy, and am starting to run a temperature myself .

I think I may have to take a break from posting for a few days. I'm a little upset about this because I've been enjoying visiting with you all. The friends I have made through blogland have become like a little family to me ...Well, it's time for some hot ginger tea and chicken soup. And maybe I'll try to actually get a full 8 hours of sleep tonight! Be well my friends - and make sure you take your vitamins!

xoxo,

(Image courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk)